Purdie's Poise Proves Key in Big West Coast Win
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In both the Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech games, Wake fans saw Deshawn Purdie come in to replace Robby Ashford for a few plays. In both games, he looked very uncomfortable on the field. Some Deacon fans may have questioned his skills after watching those few plays; however, this week, when given a full opportunity to show what he can do, Deshawn Purdie delivered in a big way.
The Deacons put up 39 points Saturday, which was the second-most points they've scored in a game all season, with the first coming against FCS opponent Western Carolina. Not only did they score a lot of points, but the offense also looked good while doing it. There were several explosive plays and breakdowns in the Oregon State defense that Wake was able to take full advantage of.
Purdie himself was 14/27 for 270 yards and four touchdown passes. Any quarterback throwing four touchdown passes in his season debut deserves some praise, and Purdie was able to exploit breakdowns in the Beavers' coverage throughout the game. Coach Dickert has long been praising his arm strength, and he capitalized on his first deep ball opportunity with a 36-yard deep shot to Chris Barnes. Throughout the game, Barnes caught three touchdown passes and accumulated 102 receiving yards. It was great to see him have a breakout game again for the Deacs and show that big play capability that Deacon Nation loves to see from him. The chemistry between Barnes and Purdie was certainly on point.
Purdie's big-play ability made the entire offense run very efficiently. The Deacons had 468 yards of total offense. Claiborne had 144 yards on the ground. The ability of Purdie to air it out and force the defense into coverage led to more running lanes being opened for Claiborne to exploit.
What's Next for Deshawn Purdie?
Now I am not here to start any rumors of a QB competition taking shape. Ashford has played with tremendous heart and shown his impressive capabilities leading this offense, and Oregon State is a 0-7 football team, so you cannot take too much from the game.
However, Purdie's arm strength and deep ball accuracy certainly give this offense a new dimension. Even if Ashford does return for the SMU game in two weeks and Purdie does not see the field again, he is only a sophomore. Surely, he will get more opportunities and may have positioned himself as the quarterback for the future of Wake Forest football.
It will be interesting to see how the coaching staff chooses to utilize Purdie the rest of the way through this season and into the future!
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Justin is a student at Wake Forest University. He is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and aspiring finance major interested everything sports. In his freshman year, Justin completed an internship with the Wake Forest Ticketing Department where he gained some valuable insight into the sales and operations aspects of collegiate athletics. Before working with Wake Forest On SI, Justin was a contributing writer for Wake Forest’s student publication The Old Gold and Black. Currently, Justin serves as a student manager on the Wake Forest Men’s Tennis team. In his free time Justin enjoys spending time with his family and friends on the golf course and traveling.